[Washington, D.C.] As reported by Reuters on October 10, the U.S. Commerce Department will decide this month whether to launch an investigation that could lead to steep duties on roughly $600 million dollars of hardwood plywood imports from China.

The case was filed in late September by U.S. plywood manufacturers in New York, North Carolina and Oregon.

The group, calling itself the Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood, alleges Chinese producers benefit from illegal subsidies and sell their products in the United States at prices more than 300 percent below fair value.

According to Reuters, total U.S. imports of hardwood plywood from China reached 1.44 million cubic meters in 2011, compared to 1.29 million in 2010 and 1.01 million in 2009.